3 May 2018

Finding a New Home in a Different Country

Finding a new home is always tough. You might need to think about local schools and employment opportunities. Or your commute to your current job. You’ll need to think about things like atmosphere and community spirit. You’ll need to look at what’s nearby, the local amenities, shops, and facilities and you’ll need to know about the local crime rates and government policies. That’s before you even start looking at houses themselves.

Then, you’ll have your own personal checklist. The things that you want from your dream home. These often include things like gardens, driveways and a specific number of bedrooms, but we all want different things from our homes. On top of all of this, there is the price. Whether you are buying or renting, you’ll have a budget in mind. Then, it all has to come together. You’ll want to find a property that ticks most of your checklist boxes, in an area that you like, and it has to fit your budget. This is rarely easy.

It’s even harder if you are moving to a different country and doing most of your searching online or in quick trips. It can seem impossible to find the perfect place. Somewhere that can be ready to welcome you to this new part of your life.

Think About Why You Are Moving

Whether you are moving abroad or down the road, the reasons for your move play a big part in choosing a home. If you were moving for more space, you wouldn’t be likely to view tiny studio apartments. Knowing why you are moving, gives you a great basis to start your house search. If you are moving for work or to be nearer to other family members, you’ve already got somewhere to start your search. If not, think about exactly what you want from your move, and try to find areas that offer you everything that you need.

Research Areas Online

The internet is a powerful tool when it comes to finding a new home. Research local areas to narrow down your search. Look into local schools and employment opportunities, as well as crime rates, average earnings and other things that matter to you and your family.

You can also research house prices online. Try to find an area that you like, that meets all of your needs and fits into your price range before looking at homes.

Visa Considerations

If you are moving abroad long-term, you’ll need to earn money. This means that you may need a different kind of Visa than you would if you were traveling. What you need depends on where you are going, where you are from, what you do and how long you plan to stay. But, make sure you research thoroughly before you agree to any move as some Visas limit the amount that you are allowed to earn or the hours that you are allowed to work.

Look at Homes Online

The internet is a very powerful tool when it comes to finding a new house. You can research areas and locations, you can look at houses that are currently on the market, and you can even look at home loan options. All from home.

You won’t want to buy a house without seeing it in person, but it gives you a fantastic starting point. You can see what’s available, what kind of price you are looking at and even set filters to help you to find a house that has everything you need. You can use this to help you to build a comprehensive checklist, to speed up your search when you visit, and even to arrange viewings or make contact with estate agents.

Visit

You’ve found the area that you want to live in or narrowed it down to a few options, and you know that you will be allowed to work. So, now you need to arrange a visit. If you are moving to a new country there’s a good chance that you’ve either been there before; you know other people in the area, or you have work connections. But, even if it’s somewhere that you’ve spent huge amounts of time in your past, it’s important that you visit again before committing to a move.

This time, you’ll see it through different eyes. You won’t be looking around as a tourist or holidaymaker. You’ll be viewing the location as a home. Assess it with a critical eye and ask yourself if this is somewhere that you could live for a long time. Try to make this a long trip so that you’ve got time to relax and settle. You may also want to use this time to start viewing houses and to find a solicitor or a realtor to help you along the way.

Find a Mortgage

Getting a mortgage is one of the trickier parts of buying a house no matter where you are looking. But, as long as you’ve done the research and found the right people to help you, you should even be able to do this online from home. You may have to sign contracts in person, but there’ll be a lot that you can do over email and video chat. Just make sure that you take your time to fully understand your agreement and its terms before you sign anything.

Visit Again

You’ll want to visit as much as you can while you are in the process of finding your home. Partly to make sure you get it right but also to make the move a little less scary. The more time that you spend there, the more comfortable, you will feel with the move.

However many times you visit, once you’ve found a house and secured a mortgage, you’ll want to make one more trip before the big move at least. Use this to look at schools and jobs as well as signing contracts on your home. If you can, get the keys while you are there and go and measure up your new home. Then, when you get back home drawer up a floor plan to help you work out what furniture you can take and where you are going to put it all.

Make Connections

Whether you are spending a lot of time in your new country or preparing most of your move online, it’s a good idea to start making connections. If you’ve got a job or are transferring within the same company, then you’ll already have a great place to start. But, either way, it’s a good idea to get to know as many people as you can. Look for expat forums and groups online and get chatting to people and start looking at job sites if you need to.

Your Existing Property

You also need to make arrangements for your existing property. If you are renting, you’ll need to give notice and pack up for your move. Perhaps hiring storage for anything that you don’t want to take straight away. If you own your home, you may want to sell straight away or rent it out to a tenant. Remember that if you rent it out, you’ll have responsibilities as a landlord.

Then, all that’s left to do is get packed up and move everything that you need to your new home. Good luck!

2 comments

Immigration is such a difficult issue! I'm not sure if it is good or bad... There is a lot of downsides in it. But It seems to me that every human being has the right to lead a better life. If everything is okay, then a person won't change the place of his/her residence. Personally I prefer traveling as much as possible in order to explore our world and people in it. Immigration is not for me.

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Dizzy Miss James is a PR friendly blog. Sometimes lovely people may be kind enough to gift me with products to review, these items will be marked with an asterisk (*). Partnered Post content will be labelled accordingly. All opinions are my own and are open and honest.